City of Austin – Dougherty Arts Center
The new community arts center at Butler Shores Park embodies the DAC’s mission of supporting artists at every stage of their careers while fostering the creation, exhibition, and engagement with the arts. Envisioned as Austin’s cultural living room, the center serves as an inclusive space where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities can come together to build community and connect through artistic expression.
A 2010 conditions assessment identified the DAC building as beyond repair. Originally established as a temporary structure in the 1970s, it was later adopted as a permanent home but has since outlived its viability. To ensure the continuation of arts center services in a safe, healthy, and sustainable environment, PARD is providing a new facility. This project builds on the 2018 community engagement process and City Council direction from spring 2019.
Feedback from programming efforts with the DAC and community helped shape the building’s form and program orientation. Studio8 and Overland collaboratively developed multiple iterations of the site, with the City selecting the current layout for its ability to maximize green space. The design prioritizes connectivity to the outdoors and Austin’s hike-and-bike network, integrating spaces for multimodal transportation, including rideshare, pickup/drop-off zones, and a nearby bus stop. Toomey Road serves as the drop-off point for afterschool programs, while the front entrance caters to gallery and theater events. The building’s placement on the cardinal axis respects the site’s heritage oaks and avoids interference with utilities.
Art studios are positioned on the west side, while the theater and black box are placed on the east side, aligning with the Zach Scott Theater to create a vibrant theater district. On the first level, the youth program is strategically located near the south drive for easy drop-off, while the administrative block is situated in the northwest corner. At the heart of the design is the two-story glassy “Hive,” serving as an activated central core that connects visual and performing arts while fostering a strong connection to nature. All these elements reflect the DAC’s mission to embody creativity, inclusivity, and community. Enhancing this vision, a rooftop terrace, accessible through the building or by exterior stairs just south of the Hive, provides a welcoming space that integrates the building with its surroundings.
The building’s perforated screening, designed to mimic a stage curtain, provides sun control while adding visual interest. Its layout follows a cardinal axis, with colors symbolizing each direction: blues for north, greens for east, purples for south, and vibrant orange-red for west.
The ‘Hive’ serves as a vibrant, adaptable core that unifies all DAC programs. Filled with natural light and visually connected to the landscape, this flexible space accommodates uses ranging from a Maker’s Space to event functions, with its neutral interior acting as a blank canvas for art and community engagement.
The open catwalk at the Hive connects both levels, creating a comfortable, human-scaled space within the high-volume area. To further activate Level 2 as a public space, the Gallery is intentionally located on the second floor, bridging the Hive alongside the Artist Connect space—an area for impromptu meetings or studio functions. Flanking this space to the north and south are adult studios, including 2D Art, Photography with a darkroom, and Ceramics with an outdoor kiln balcony. The east-west arterial creates a dynamic procession, linking the Youth Studio and Administrative spaces through the Hive to the Theater block, where the south wall outside the Theater serves as a canvas for art displays, echoing the Gallery above.
